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Soldier Brad Ventures from Camp
by Julia
Gorin [pundit/comedian] 8/14/07
Since the Dynamic National Guard PR Duo
only recently got onto my radar — by virtue of their attacks on me — I
can’t say for sure that the Trip to the Visoki Decani Monastery was a rare excursion for our Soldier Brad. And perhaps it’s just coincidence that
he went on this outing in the midst of the controversy about “the real
Kosovo”, begun after he and his lady soldier read my articles
mentioning the peril that such Kosovo sites are in. But here are some
of the conciliatory observations that our soldier bard Brad shares from
his journey:
On Saturday, August 4th, I had the
opportunity of a lifetime. Thanks to our friend, Chaplain Wikstrom, I
was allowed to tour the amazing Visoki Decani Serbian Orthodox
Monastery 12 km south of Pec, Kosovo. The monastery is an amazing
architectural feat which was built between 1327 and 1335, but the most
amazing thing about it is that it has not been destroyed throughout
history.
Contributor
Julia Gorin
Pundit, comedian and opinionist Julia Gorin is proprietor of www.JuliaGorin.com and
is a contributing editor to www.JewishWorldReview.com..[go to Gorin index]
See Julia on the web at:
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( “Amazing” is used three times in a single paragraph — to describe something Serbian. You definitely don’t see that every day.) Soldier Brad continues:
At
a time when other Monasteries were being destroyed, the Decani
Monastery survived. It survived the Ottoman invasion, World War II when
the Nazis stole all of the gold from the chapel frescoes, and the most
recent wars when other Monasteries were burned to the ground.
Ahem.
Ahem. The Ottomans are named. The Nazis are named. No timidity there.
But then we have some unnamed, non-distinct “wars” in which monasteries
“were burned.” Did anyone do the burning, or did the monasteries suffer
from spontaneous combustion? Do these “recent wars” include a certain
2004 pogrom, pre-planned and participated in by any particular group?
One is reminded of the news that four “former Yugoslavs” were planning to kill soldiers at Ft. Dix. (One is also reminded of headlines from the Middle East: “Israelis kill six Palestinians” versus “Bus explodes in central Jerusalem.”) Of
course, it would make it harder to hand Kosovo to the folks who do this
kind of thing if we went around calling a spade a spade. More from
Soldier Brad:
Most amazing, however, are the
Byzantine frescos which cover every square inch of wall and ceiling
inside the chapel. These 14th Century frescoes were completed in 1350
and have survived mostly intact until this day. During the Ottoman
occupation, the eyes were gauged out of several of the frescoes by the
invading Turks, but the frescoes still stand much as they were in the
14th Century.
Let’s keep in mind who in the
Balkans did well under the Ottomans and wants a return to “pre-1912″
borders uniting all “Albanian lands”. Back to Brad:
We
were guided by one of the Monks who specializes in wood carving for the
Monastery, creating wood products which will be used in Orthdox
churches everywhere. The craftsmanship used on these pieces is second
to none…The Monastery is not just a Kosovo or Serbian treasure, it is a
treasure of the world, being listed in 2004 on the UNESCO World
Heritage list.
This was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see what
I consider to be one of the surviving wonders of the world. And yes, I
would defend this and other historical buildings like it with my life
because I consider it to be that important. I only hope that someday
the situation will be present in Kosovo wherein people can travel to
the Decani Monastery in order to see it themselves.
Pardon? You mean people can’t travel to the monastery? HOW COME?! And how big was Brad’s military
escort for this excursion? Not that any American would need a military
escort in a den of “pro-American” Albanians.
Before
that can happen [people traveling by themselves to the monastery],
there needs to be a large mind-set change on the parts of the Albanians
and the Serbians.
You mean Serbs also aren’t letting people travel to the monasteries? Now I’m confused.
I
don’t care if you don’t appreciate the other’s religious beliefs, there
is room for ALL beliefs in this world without violence from either side.
Violence from either side? Considering that we’re up to two million Albanians and down to
100,000 Serbs in Kosovo (with only about 70 in the capital, down from
40,000), this statement can only mean that Serbs are as guilty as
Albanians in anti-Serb violence. ExileStreet
copyright
2007 Julia Gorin
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